Dispensing of carbonated beverages



Oct. 24, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 6, 1964 E. C. TURNERDISPENSING OE CARBONATED BEVERAGES 3 ets-Sheet 2 Filed July 6, 1964 7Oct. 24, 1967 Filed July 6, 1964 E. C. TURNER DISPENSING OF CARBONATEDBEVERAGES 3 Sheets-Sheath a2 7 fifi 61 i 6! 63 a Q 46 Z? a: 4 2 54 a 15a 5@ United States Patent 3,348,565 DISPENSING OF CARBONATED BEVERAGESEric Clifford Turner, Weybridge, Surrey, England, assignor to WatneyCombe Reid & Co., Limited, London, England, a British company Filed July6, 1964, Ser. No. 380,372 1 Claim. (Cl. 137-212) This invention relatesto the dispensing of carbonated beverages and in particular to devices,known as extractors, for coupling to the outlet valve arrangement of apressurized container for a carbonated beverage, for withdrawal of thebeverage therefrom.

An arrangement is already known in which the neck of a keg or the likefor a carbonated beverage such as beer is furnished with an inlet andoutlet valve having separate valve controlled passageways for gas andliquid. When the filled container is to be used, that is to say when thebeer or other beverage is to be withdrawn, an extractor is inserted intoengagement with the valved container neck, and the insertion of thisextractor opens the respective valved passages by the resulting axialdisplacement.

Experience has shown that in some cases the simultaneous engagement ofthe extractor with the container neck, and the opening of the valvedpassageways, is inconvenient when an instant-fitting extractor isemployed. The thrust necessary for a satisfactory engagement of theextractor is, of course, increased substantially by the additional stepof concomitantly opening the valved passageways against respectivereturn springs. The expression instant-fitting means an arrangementwhereby the extractor is engaged with the container neck by a momentaryaction, as opposed to, e.g., a progressive screwing action. A bayonetfitting is a typical example. It is characteristic of instant fittingsthat the downward movement is achieved by direct axial thrust.

The invention consists in an extractor for a container having valvedpassageways for gas and liquid housed within a neck portion thereof, andoperated by axial displacement, comprising an outer casing furnishedwith instantfitting means for engaging within the container neck, anaxially slidable v-alve engaging member incorporating gas and liquidpassageways for sealing with the respective gas and liquid passagewaysof a pre-existing valve within the container neck, and means fordisplacing the valve body inwardly into the required engagement with thecontainer valve, after the outer casing has been engaged within thecontainer neck.

Preferably, the means for displacing the valve body comprises a leverpivoted to the outer casing for swinging about an axis at right anglesto the casing axis, and carrying a roller or smooth engagement surfacefor pressing the valve body down when the lever is so swung.

The casing will normally carry a suitable sealing ring into engagementwith which the valve body is pressed concomitantly upon being pressedinto engagement with the container valve. The casing will normally alsocarry a suitable retu-rn spring for the valve body. The casing mayconveniently be formed in axially separable parts to facilitateassembly.

The invention will be described further with'reference to theaccompanying drawings, of which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of an extractor;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view corresponding to FIGURE 1 but with the operatinghandle moved for better clarity;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view on the line AA of FIGURE 2, showing thehandle in the disengaged position;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view on the line B B of FIGURE 2, showing thehandle in the engaged or operating position; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the neck portion of a beer keg furnishedwith a gasand liquid-valve for engagement by an extractor as shown inFIGURE 1.

The extractor comprises anouter casing made up of interfitting parts 1and 2, located together by the set screw 3. An axially slidable valvebody 4 is housed within the casing, and is urged into an uppermostposition by a return spring 5 received between a slot 6 in the valvebody and an abutment ring 7 carried in the lower part of the casing. Thevalve body 4 incorporates respective gas and liquid passage-ways 8 and 9leading to respective outlets 10 and 11 adapted to make engagement withthe corresponding passageways in a container valve as will later bedescribed, and engagement within the container neck is effectedbayonet-wise by the studs 12.

Carried below the abutment ring 7 within the casing part 2 is a sealingring 13. A handle 14, pivoted at 15 to the casing part 1, carries aroller 16 making engagement with a flat 17 adjacent the upper end of thevalve body 4. With the handle positioned as shown in FIGURE 3, the valvebody is in an uppermost position. When the handle is swung down as shownin FIGURE 4, the roller 16 presses the valve body down into an engagedor operative position, while at the same time tapered side walls 18 ofthe valve body are pressed into sealing engagement with the sealing ring13.

In FIGURE 5 there is shown a generally longitudinal sectional view of aclosure suit-able for use with the extractor of this invention. Theclosure is of built-up construction and so designed that it may belargely made of, for instance, spun steel. The closure comprises aninner neck portion 41 which may, if desired, be adapted by means of anannular protuberance to be fitted with a Crown-Cork (registeredtrademark), the inner neck portion 41 carrying an outer neck portion 42and an extension 43; this extension 43 carries an enlarged upper end 44of a withdrawal pipe 45, and the end 44 is flanged at 46 and perforatedat 47. The outer neck portion 42 is externally threaded, and is shownscrewed into neck 48 of a metal beer cask, the flange 46 hearing againsta shoulder 49 in the cask neck; a sealing ring 50 makes a seal betweenthe closure and the cask, and is retained in position by the flange 46and a shoulder 51 formed by the outer neck portion 42. A valve body 52is in the shape of a generally cylindrical shell with a lower endclosure 53, and is furnished with a cylindrical shell-shaped extension54, the side-wall of the valve body 52 being perforated as at 55 and theside-wall of the extension 54 being perforated as at 56; this valve body52 is slidably mounted in the end of the withdrawal tube 45 by means ofthe extension 54, and the valve body 52 has slidably mounted thereon asleeve-shaped seal, generally indicated by 57, which comprises a sleeve58, an upper sealing ring 59 and a lower sealing ring 60, the upper andlower sealing rings 59 and 60' being retained by flanges 61 and 62, respectively. A flange 63 on the valve body 52 serves as an abutment for aspring 64 (housed in chamber 65 defined by the end 44 of the withdrawalpipe and the extension 54 of the valve body), and also serves to make asealing fit between the valve body 52 and the lower sealing ring 60 whenthe valve body 52 is held in its uppermost position by the action of thespring 64. In this uppermost position of the valve body 52, the actionof the spring 64 also serves to make a sealing fit between the lowersealing ring 60 and a flange 66 provided on the inner neck portion 41.In this position it can be seen that while the chamber 65 is incommunication with the withdrawal tube 45 by Way of the perforations 56,the perforations 55 leading into the valve body 52 are sealed oif fromthe chamber 65. The lower end if the withdrawal tube 45 is fitted with asliding extension piece '67 formed with an angled foot for the admissionof liquid, and a flange 68 is formed at the extremity of the withdrawaltube 45 to retain the extension piece 67.

To withdraw liquid from a cask to which this closure member is fitted,the extractor is engaged bayonet-fashion by means of the studs 12, whichfit in cut-aways, one of which is shown at 69, provided on the outerneck portion of the closure.

By this action, the sealing ring 13 is pressed into sealing engagementwith the upper surface of inner neck member 19 of the container valveassembly. The effort required to effect this is not aggravated by theeffort required to effect an operative engagement with the respectivecontainer valve, as this is subsequentially achieved by swinging thehandle 14.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to thedevice as illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention.Thus, although it is preferable to fit the sealing ring 13 to the outerbody 2 as shown, it could instead be carried by the inner body 4. Tothis end, the return spring 5 may be fixed at its upper end to the valvebody 4 and at its lower end to the sealing ring 13 either directly orthrough the abutment ring 7 if the latter is retained.

I claim:

An extractor for withdrawing liquids from a pressurized container, saidcontainer having a neck portion, and valved passageways for gas andliquid located within said neck portion and operable by axialdisplacement thereof, said extractor comprising an outer casing,complemental means on said casing and the inside of said neck portioncooperable to instantly engage said casing within said neck portion, anaxially slidable valve engaging member within said casing, said valveengaging member being provided with gas and liquid passageways forsealing with the gas and liquid passageways located within the neckportion, means within the casing cooperable with said valve engagingmember for biasing said valve engaging member to a position where thegas and liquid passageways therein are in non-sealing relationshiprespecting the said gas and liquid passageways located in the neckportion, a lever pivoted to said outer casing for swinging movementabout an axis at right angles to the axis of said outer casing, a smoothengagement surface carried by said lever for pressing said valveengaging member downwardly in the casing for placing the gas and liquidpassageways therein in sealing relation with the gas and liquidpassageways located in the neck portion and a seal ring biased to sealbetween the casing and the valve engaging member through which the valveengaging member is arranged to slide, said seal ring being arranged toseal the neck portion of the container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,629,614- 2/ 1-953 Valentine222-400] 2,638,914 5/1953 Flaith 137212 3,194,451 7/ 1965 FletcherZZZ-400.7

ALAN COHAN, Primary Examiner.

